Weight-motor



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H. A. SPENCER.

WEIGHT MOTGR.

No. 353,717. Patentedo. 7, 1886.

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UNTTED STATES PATENT Ormea.

HIRAM A. SPENCER, OF ROGERS, TEXAS:

WEIGHT-MOTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 353,717l dated December'7, 1886.

Application tiled June 9, 1885. Serial No. 168,161. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HIRAM A. SPENCER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bogers, in the county of Bell and State of Texas, haveinvented a new and useful Veight-Motor, particularly useful as apumping-machine to supply water-tanks on railroads, of which thefollowing is'a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in weight-motors for elevatingwater, and actuated by passing trains; and it consist-s in the peculiarconstruction and combination of devices, that will be more fully setforth hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is an elevation of a weight-motorembodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a similar view taken from theopposite side of the machine. Fig. -3 is a horizontal sectional view,taken on the line x x of Fig. 1.

A represents a vertical supporting-frame, which may he of any suitableconstruction, and is placed alongside of a railway-track and at asuitable distance therefrom.

Journaled in the frame A is a horizontal shaft, B, which extendsparallel with the track. On the said shaft is mounted a ratchet-wheel,O, which is free to rotate independently. A spur-wheel, D, is firmlyattached to the said shaft, and a drinn, E, is loosely mounted thereon,and is attached to the ratchet-wheel and rotates with the same. A pawl,F, is pivoted to the wheel D and engages the ratchetwheel, so as to lockthe latter to the wheel D and cause them' to rotate together in thedirection indicated by the arrow in Fig. l.

Above the shaft B is jonrnaled a shaft, G,

which is provided with a fixed pinion, H, that meshes with the wheel D,and also with a fixed spur-wheel, I. One end of the shaft G projectsbeyond one side of the frame A,and to itis attached anescapement-wheeLK. An anchor, L, engages the wheel K, and is providedwith a pendulum, M. On the opposite side of the frame A from the shaftsB and G is journaled a shaft, N, having a fixed pinion, O, that engagesthe wheel I, and a fixed spur-wheel, P. A shaft, B, is journaled in theframe A above the shalt N, and the said shaft has a fixed pinion, S,that meshes with the wheel P. One end of the shaft R projects beyond oneside of the frame A, and is provided with a fixed gearwheel, T.

U represents a frame, which is arranged on one side of the frame A.Journaled vertically in the frame U is a shaft, V, having a crank, V',and at the upper end of the said shaft is a rigid gearwheel, V2, thatmeshes with the wheel T. A shaft, WV, is journaled vertically in theframe U, alongside the shaft V and parallel therewith, and the saidshaft WV has a crank, V, and a rigid spur-wheel, W2, at its upper end.

X represent-s ashaft that is journaled vertically in the frame Ualongside of the shaft WV, and is provided at its upper end with aspur-pinion, X, that meshes with the wheel W2. To the central portion ofthe shaft X is attached a cylindrical cam, X2, having aspiral groove,X3.

Y represents a vertical reciprocating rod that is secured in guides Y,with which the frame U is provided. This rod has a projection, Y2,provided with an anti-friction roller that enters the groove X3 of thecylindrical cam.

Z represents one of the rails ot' the track which is nearest to theweight-motor. A le ver, a, has its fnlcrum at b, and extends from thetrack to the frame A. The inner end of this lever is upturned, formingan arm, a', that bears nearly against the inner side of the rail Z.

Below the ratchet-wheel C is fulcrumed a trip-lever, d, having a curvedarm," d. A pushrod, e, is pivoted to the outer end of the lever c andextends vertically therefrom, and is adapted to engage the teeth of theratchetwheel E. This push-rod is caused to normally bear against thecurved arm of the trip-lever by a spring, f, which is attached to thelever a.

In the upper end of the frame A, at a s uitable height above the drum,is journaled av sheave, g. A rope, 7L, has one end attached tol the drumE and passes over the sheave g, and to the pendent vend of thc rope isattached a weight, Y

7c represents a rod which extends vertically on the frame A, beingguided in keepers l. The lower end of this rod is attached to the outerend of thc trip-lever, and the upper end thereof is bent outwardly atright angles and provided with an eye, k', through which the weight-ropepasses.

The operation of my invention isas follows:

IOO

When a train passes along the track, its Wheels strike upon the arm a ofthe lever a and op erate the said lever, so as to cause the pushrod e toengage .the ratchet-wheel and rotate the same, thereby Winding the ropeon the drum and elevating the weight. When the weight is raised to thedesired height, it comes in contact with the upper end of the rod k andmoves the same upwardly. rlhis causes the trip-lever to be turned on itspivot, and the curved arm thereof to move the upper end of the push-rode to one side, thereby disengaging the said rod from the ratchet-Wheel.1 TheV Weight by its own gravity descends, thereby rotating the drum inthe reverse direction as the rope uncoils therefrom, and actuating thetrain of gear-Wheels journaled i-n the frame A. The pendulum-escapementsregulate the speed of the said train of gear-wheels, and the gearingjournaled in the frame U, being connected with the gearing in the frameA, is also set in motion. The shaft Vrevolves, and its crank V isconnected to the crank W of the shaft W by a pitman, Z. This causes thesaid shaft W to be rocked iirst in one direction and then in theopposite direction, and the multiplying gear-wheels W2 and X impart alike motion and a greater extent of revolution to the shaft X, havingthe spirallygrooved cam. The motion of the cam causes the rod Y to `bereciprocat'ed vertically. A pump rod (n ot shown) should be attached tothe rod Y, and' the result will be that water may be elevated into atank. By this means the steam-engine now usually employed at theWaterstation of a railroad may be dispensed with.

Having thus described my, invention, I claim- 1. The combination, in aWeight-motor, of the drum having the ratchet-Wheel, the gear- Wheel D,having the pawl F, engaging the ratchet-wheel, and the lever a, adaptedto be 2. The combination, in a Weight-motor, of

the drum having the ratchet-Wheel C, the gearwheel D, having the pawlengaging the ratchetwheel, the lever a, extending from the track andadapted to be operated by the wheels of a passing train, the push-rod e,attached to the said lever and adapted to engage the ratchet- Wheel torotate the latter, the rope attached to the drum and having the weights,the trip-lever to'move thepush-rod out of engagement With theratchet-Wheel, andthe rod k, attached to the said trip-lever and havingan arm eX- tending in the path of the weight, for thepurpose set forth,substantially as described.

3 The combination, in a weight-motor for railways, of the drum havingthe ratchet- Wheel C, the weighted rope attached to the drum, thegear-Wheel having the paWl engaging the ratchet-Wheel, theoperating-lever a, extending from'the track and having the pushrod e, toengage the ratchet-'Wheel and rotate the drum and elevate Athe Weight,and the escapement to regulate the speed of the machine when the Weightdescends, substantially as described. l

4. rlhe combination` of the rotating shaft V, having the crank V', therock-shaft W, having the crank W, the pitman connecting the said cranks,the rock-shaft X, geared to the shaft W, and having the cam providedWith l the spiral groove, and the reciprocating' rod having the studengaging the saidspiral groove,

substantially as described.

H. A. SPENCER.

Witnesses:

CHANDLER, E. M. THOMAS.

